Washington County Enterprise-Leader
Moments In Midst Of Adversity
Plagued by turnovers and a pounding on the offensive glass, the Farmington boys basketball team lost, 70-58, at home Jan. 24 to Harrison in a key 5A West matchup.
The confrontation drew a certain amount of attention from the media and a contingent of Harrison fans, who were vocal in support of the Goblins (15-4). The Goblins managed to cool the interest of Farmington (14-5) fans early, taking a 17-12 lead as the first quarter closed on Tanner Curry’s bucket two seconds before the period expired. Curry led the Goblins with 21 points.
For the first time this season, Farmington’s leading scorer Matt Wilson was held below 20 points. Facing constant double-teams each time he crossed half-court, Wilson hustled to block Jackson Marseilles after he stole the dribble with the rebound last touched by Harrison before going out-of-bounds and belonging to Farmington. On the next possession, Wilson showed patience and was rewarded when the ball was delivered to him in the left corner. He scored, driving to the hoop after being held to a single field goal and no free throws in the first quarter.
Playing on his home court, Wilson didn’t get many calls all night despite constant reaching in by the Goblins and had a basket taken away when Harrison’s big man, 6-feet-5 Trevor Atwell flopped, drawing a charging foul against Wilson. The no- basket, no- free- throw ruling turned into a 5-point swing. There were three points Farmington didn’t get, while instead Harrison got two points with Curry scoring at the other end. That made the score 30-18 in favor of Harrison.
“Harrison is one of the best teams in the state,” said Farmington coach Beau Thompson. “Getting past one of them is hard, getting by two of them is even harder.”
With 3:58 to play in the fourth, Wilson was wiped out on a drive to the basket and taken to the floor by Harrison’s Nathan Jenkins. On the first free throw attempt, Harrison’s 6-feet-5 junior Skyler Young, not so subtly raised his arm as Wilson released the charity shot. Young did not get a technical for what looked like a deliberate attempt at distracting the shooter. That dubious distinction belonged to Atwood, who was still in the game with Harrison leading by 20 with 1:18 remaining.
In the midst of adversity with Harrison shutting down their primary scoring option, Farmington had their moments.
Xavier Staten wound up in a footrace to the hoop after making a steal in the first quarter. He used a behind-the-back dribble in the open court to get to the rack for a layup. Staten had one of the Cardinals’ four 3-pointers in the third and scored 10 points. In the fourth, he caught the ball in the corner and came across the lane finishing beautifully with a reverse lay-in.
Cade Fenton twice showed Harrison they couldn’t reverse the ball with a cross-court pass to set up a shooter in the left corner. He elevated and deflected the pass. In the first period, Fenton drove hard into the lane, then fed Skylar Montez for a layup. Fenton banked in a 3-pointer off the backboard to start the fourth.
Montez led Farmington in scoring with 18 points, going 6- for- 6 at the foul line. He hit jumpers with a quick release and used a head fake to get a defender off his feet, driving by the Goblin for an easy deuce. Montez accounted for 10 of Farmington’s 23 fourth-quarter points. He scored six unanswered points, tipping in Wilson’s missed trey and putting in the rebound off Staten’s drive, then driving from the top- of- the- key, drawing a foul and making both. The 6- 0 mini run pulled the Cardinals within, 53-41, at the 6:26 mark, but they couldn’t get any closer.
Subbed in at the 1: 18 mark of the fourth, Carson Sharp sank both technical free throws, starting an 8-0 Farmington run to end the game. Senior David Askegaard squared his shoulders and banked in a 3-pointer. Then after Jenkins, another Harrison starter who was still on the court, missed a turnaround jumper after posting up, Sharp got the ball in the front-court. He held up waiting for his teammates, passing to Askegaard, whose second 3-pointer in the last 51 seconds swished through the net as the horn sounded.
MARK HUMPHREY IS A SPORTS WRITER FOR THE ENTERPRISELEADER.
“Harrison is one of the best teams in the state. Getting past one of them is hard, getting by two of them is even harder.” Beau Thompson Farmington Coach